RPM Redux
by Jarred706
Summary: Sometime in the future, the destruction of most of mankind was caused by the return of a being known as Venjix. This is a story of mankind's last line of defense...the city of Corinth...where mankind must make its stand to survive...
1. Redux 1

Disclaimer: Not mine, nor will it ever be...

Note: This actually began as a part of a series of stories I posted called, "Ranger Earth: Origins," well that project is on a indefinite hiatus because I had too many plots and too many characters...and well it just proved a bit over-bearing. So I took the one section that I really enjoyed, the one section that I had a decent number of chapters for (several of which never got published), so I decided to focus on that team. Essentially its the RPM team (more-or-less) based on concepts and storylines I had planned out before the series actually premiered (when all we had was a teaser and knew very little about the series), hence the many differences. So for those that were reading, "Ranger Earth: Origins," I apologize for its ending, that's not to say some of the teams will appear in later stories...but for now I want to focus on one team (for the most part)...and for new readers...please, enjoy.

RPM Redux

Once upon a time Justin Stewart had been a Power Ranger, but that seemed almost like another life. Storm-blaster, his sentient vehicle has long since returned to dormancy, and doing so took away his last connection to the Turbo Powers.

Of course there were times when he thought that it had all been a dream. A kid's game, there was no way he could ever have been a Ranger. He knew better though, once you knew the Power, you never forgot it. Sure it moved on to others, but there was that common bond that you all shared, once a Ranger, always a Ranger. In some cases that was more true than others, he'd heard tell that Tommy had suited back up for a while with a new team of Rangers, and Adam got another chance he'd heard as well, this time finally acting as the leader he had always had the potential to be. The funny thing was that both were Black Rangers now…or were…or however it was.

The dust kicked up behind the black jeep as it sped down the desert road. This road was rarely used by anyone. It was nothing more than a dirt path running through the barren and destroyed lands. Justin still wasn't sure why he had decided to take this road today, but it was one of the quickest ways to get into Corinth City, despite being one of the most dangerous stretches on Machine infested lands. Even though it was night time, there was still no guarantee that someone could make it across the land undamaged, and only an idiot would even consider making the 'Barricade Run' during the daytime, which would guarantee an early grave.

Corinth itself was one of the only havens left without any semblance of Venjix and his Machine Empire. Armed guards kept the area protected via a series of high tech laser grids, that essentially formed a force field around the city, one of the last remnants of Project Lightspeed. There were several similarly protected fields in other parts of the world, and each ran on a self-contained computer network that Venjix had yet been able to hack.

There were countless safeguards once one reached Corinth, scanners to pass, records to run, you weren't even allowed to use cell phones or any form of wireless communication. Venjix had ways to move through wireless ports, even in the city the only computers were what was required to keep the city alive.

Justin pulled up to one of the three entry points to the city as he came to a complete stop. Several scanners moved along the vehicle, checking for anything that could be a contaminate. After that Justin had to step through one scanner, a metal detector and then finally a manual scan by an armed gate guard. A second guard took three different types of ID and ran the numbers through several complete record searches. After an hour he was finally allowed into the city. Sure it was an inconvenience, but it was necessary, and most of the residents of the city had no problem with the procedures.

The Jeep passed through the city, the only light was from his headlights. Street lights were rarely used at night, because apart from the guards, most people had no interest in being outside part dark. Eventually Justin pulled into the lot in front of his apartment. He parked and unloaded, making his way to the door to apartment 14101, unlocking the door he walked in.

"You really need to cut back on these runs Justin, one of these days your luck is going to run out," a voice spoke in the darkness of the apartment.

Justin immediately went into a defensive stance, preparing for whatever was going to approach him.

"Calm down man," the light came on and standing against a far wall stood Adam Park, former Green Zeo and Turbo Ranger, and current Black Mighty Morphin Ranger.

"How did you get in here?" Justin relaxed.

"Well you haven't changed your lock in three years, and I still have the spare key you left me," Adam replied before tossing a key towards the former Blue Turbo Ranger.

"Better yet, what are you doing here?" Justin caught the key mid-air.

"Special request," Adam replied, "I have a meeting with a Dr. K tomorrow."

"Dr. K? Wow, messing with the big wigs. Have you ever met her in person?" Justin settled down on his sofa, and motioned for Adam to have a seat wherever.

"Never in person. You know her?" Adam sat down in a nearby recliner.

"Once or twice,," Justin laughed, "trust me, she won't be what your expecting."

"Well then, if you got no plans tomorrow wanna join?" Adam asked.

"Sure, why not. Okay back to a previous question, what exactly are you doing here, as in my apartment. Or was it just a social call at 1 in the morning?" Justin kicked his shoes off in the middle of the floor.

"Mind if an old teammate crashes for the night?" Adam chuckled.

"Take the couch," the former Blue Turbo Ranger stood up, "not to cut the visit short, but I gotta get some sleep. There's a pillow and some blankets in the cabinet over there."

Adam nodded his confirmation. In all the years Justin had been staying in this apartment he really hadn't changed that much. Grabbing a pillow and blanket Adam made his way to the couch, kicked off his shoes, kicked back and was asleep within fine minutes.

Justin woke the next morning to the smell of breakfast cooking, "what the heck…I don't buy groceries." Walking into the living room and running his hands through his tussled hair he saw Adam standing over the stove frying some eggs.

"I picked up a couple things in the market yesterday, hope ya don't mind," Adam was obviously a morning person.

Still yawning Justin replied, "oh yeah…how dare you…I didn't even think that stove worked."

Adam just laughed as he took the eggs out and laid them beside bacon and biscuits (homemade at that). "No wonder you're still single, I mean come on man every guy needs to be able to cook something, a woman can only eat out so much."

"What time is your meeting?" Justin bit into an egg.

"Bout an hour from now," Adam answered.

"Well I guess I should get ready," Justin continued eating.

"Not that boxers and un-tucked t-shirt isn't an appropriate look," Adam laughed.

The two Rangers finished their breakfast and Justin made his way into his room, coming out a few minutes later, dressed in cargo pants and a blue button down shirt. He finished lacing his boots and put a pair of shades on his head, "let's go."

Adam was dressed head to toe in black, the only other color he wore was a white jacket, "lead the way."

Both loaded into Justin's Jeep as they pulled out of the parking lot. They began the trip to Orion Labs, which was situated in the middle of the city.

The roads of Corinth were worn, but useable, and the trip didn't take long. Within 15 minutes Justin and Adam arrived at Orion Labs.

Orion was the power center of the city. It housed the only available computer network, as well as the primary as the city guard command. Once part of Project Lightspeed, Orion had branched off into its own entity, and when Venjix first cut off access to the Morphing Grid they began searching for new ways to tap into the powers. Corinth was safe, but everyone knew that eventually Venjix would breach the walls, and when that day came, their normal, armed forces wouldn't stand a chance.

General Truman was the over-all head of Orion, and he was also the driving force behind the research into Ranger Powers. He had made several decisions that many would consider controversial, including allowing a machine to act as part of his project, but he always placed the citizen's lives first, and no one ever doubted that he would do anything in his power to prevent harm to fall on the city.

The Head of Research at Orion was also one of his controversial decisions. A young girl, barely 20, was hired to lead the research into the Powers. She was simply known as Dr. K, and despite her age very few would argue her ability. She had spent countless hours and days in Ranger research, finally finding a source she believed capable of harnessing the Morphing Powers, she only needed one last component, and as of recently she had found that component, in the form of Adam Park.

Another chief figure at Orion, was also the one that had the most controversy. He was a machine, he was one of the enemy…at least that's what the people viewed him as. He was called Alpha 5, trusted ally and advisor of 4 teams of Rangers. He was also the one that held two vital components in the formation of the new Ranger Powers. With Alpha on board, Dr. K now had access to both the Turbo and Zeo Powers, despite the fact both seemed dormant.

With the aid of Alpha, Dr. K was able to combine elements of the Turbo and Zeo Powers into something new. Though not as strong as the Zeo Powers, but much stronger than the Turbo Powers, she was able to design 5 new bio-armor suits: Series Red, Blue and Yellow as well as Series Green, and finally Series Black. The suits were there, the powers were there but they had yet to provide a means in which a human could summon the powers instantly, so there was no, "Morphing," aspect. For some reason they could not get the Ranger Powers to bind with a human host. They had trained three individuals to take on Series Red, Blue and Yellow, but not Green or Black, because they still had yet to fully understand the full capabilities of those Powers.

Alpha mentioned that he knew of one former Ranger still able to fully morph, despite the interference from Venjix. He had been 1 of 5 former Rangers who had been called back into action when a previous team was temporarily disconnected from the Morphing Grid. The other 3 who still existed in this time period had all but vanished when Venjix arrived, and there was no ways to know whether or not they're powers were still active.

That one remaining Ranger was none other than Adam Park, Black Ranger. It took a while to hunt down the Ranger, but eventually they succeeded, and Adam had agreed to come to Corinth in an effort to aid Orion. He was scheduled to arrive today.

Justin and Adam made their way to the main entrance of the facility where they were met by a secretary.

"Can I help you?" The secretary greeted.

"My name is Adam Park and I had an appointment with a Dr. K," Adam introduced himself, "and this is Justin Stewart."

Justin nodded.

"Just a moment," the secretary lifted a phone and pressed several buttons on the keypad. She was checking to see if these 2 men were expected.

Justin and Adam both stood in silence, until the secretary turned to face them again.

"Please step through the door to the left, you will be greeted via monitor in there," the secretary unlocked a door and motion for the former Turbo Rangers to pass through.

"Thank you," Adam smiled and walked through the door.

The room was mostly empty. There were several chairs, and very little else, there was a large monitor against the far wall, and a sealed door to the left. Justin and Adam both sat down, waiting for something to happen.

The monitor on the far wall came to life, as the spinning Orion logo appeared on-screen. Moments later a female voice spoke, "Welcome Adam."

"Hi, this is…" Adam began to introduce Justin.

"Trust me, I know Justin Stewart, we go way back," the voice responded.

"Hey Doc," Justin spoke.

The spinning Orion loge faded as static image began to take form; eventually the static took on a human form, though not a clear image.

Adam watched the screen, finally the image was clear. After seeing who was there Adam was slightly shocked.

A tiny figure of a girl, who looked no older than 18, was looking at the camera. Her lab coat seemed oversized, and the headset she wore looked twice as big as it should have. She could see Adam's shock as he watched the screen, "What? You thought I'd be taller?"

"Actually I thought you'd be older," Adam answered honestly.

"I get that a lot," the girl smiled, "Sorry about the monitor chat, you'll be allowed back momentarily. It just takes a couple minutes."

"That's okay," Justin replied, "if it's a problem with me being here I can go."

"Nonsense, you have just as much at stake here as we do, plus it's been like a year since we visited," Dr. K assured Justin.

Minutes later the second door in the room opened, and Dr. K's voice told them to pass through.

"Ay yi yi yi. Adam, Justin, dudes, it's been a long time," a familiar voice greeted the two former Turbo Rangers as the walked through.

"Alpha? Is that you?" Justin laughed, "what are you doing here?"

"Working with Orion of course, come in and you'll see how," Alpha flagged them to follow him.

The halls were long, windows lined the walls, with different experiments taking place, most dealing with weapon testing and defense improvement. At the end of the hall was yet another door to pass through, this one with no way to see inside it. Alpha pressed a combination of numbers on a keypad, before the door came open.

Inside Dr. K was looking over a stack of papers. She looked up and grinned when Adam and Justin walked in.

The room itself seemed to scream research, but several things immediately caught the eye of the Rangers. Lining the back wall were 5 tubes, side by side, and in each tube was a colored uniform with a number 1-5 on the chest. Sure the uniforms changed in appearance, but there was never mistaking a Ranger uniform.

"Those are cool," Justin looked over each uniform, his eyes straying slightly longer on the blue uniform as memories of his childhood flooded back.

Adam's attention was caught by something else entirely though. Something he had not been expecting to see. He approached the items, looking at each closely, "Alpha are these…"

"Yes Adam," Alpha answered.

Dr. K walked up beside Adam, "neat huh?"

The items that lay in front of Adam were five separate crystals, each bearing a different shape one the ends. The other items were wrist mounts, each with a corresponding key.

Justin walked over to where Adam was, and he saw what the others were looking at.

"Those are the Turbo Morphers," Justin saw the one he had worn on his wrist so many years ago, "and I take it those are the Zeo Crystals?"

"You brought these didn't you Alpha?" Adam turned toward the red and gold robot, "I thought they were gone."

"Powers like these never die, they just take on new forms," Dr. K answered, "Alpha was kind enough to let me study the Turbo Morphers and Crystals, and what I learned from them is what allowed me to design the RPM Powers. Basically those five uniforms on the wall over there are a combination of the Zeo and Turbo Powers."

"It was amazing Adam, we never thought it would work, but we were able to design these new bio-suits," Alpha exclaimed.

"Well if you have these suits and all that, what did you need me for?" Adam asked.

"Simple, we needed to do a scan of your Morphed form, and through that hope that we can find a way to bind these powers to our recruits, the way your powers are bound to you," Dr. K explained, "and to our knowledge you are the only living, active Ranger on Earth."

Justin continued to look over the Morphers and Crystals. He wanted so badly to just reach out and try to tap into the Turbo Powers one more time.

Alpha noticed the look on Justin's face, "I'm sorry Justin, I know it must be hard for you, but the powers are dormant…"

"Are you 100% positive?" Justin asked without realizing it, "I mean weirder things have happened."

"You can try, but just don't expect anything," Dr. K told the former Blue Turbo Ranger.

Justin reached down and lifted the Blue Turbo Morpher from the table. Attaching it to his wrist he put the key in the opposite hand of the Morpher wrist.

Adam watched intently, just waiting to see what would happen, as did Alpha and Dr. K.

Thrusting his hands forward and inserting the key Justin shouted out, "Shift Into Turbo!" For one instant he swore he felt something, but then it quickly faded and Justin was just standing there, "well it didn't hurt to try."

"I'm sorry man," Adam tried to assure his friend. He knew that it was hard for Justin losing his powers at such a young age, but in that short time he had proven himself more than worthy to wield the Powers.

"It's cool," Justin forced a smile, "so why don't you Mister Last Action Ranger show us what you got." Justin said jokingly.

Adam smiled, "I'll see what I can do."

Dr. K's eyes lit up at that suggestion. For the first time in her life she was about to see an honest to goodness Power Ranger morph right in front of her. The kid in her was filled with anticipation, and the scientist in her was filled with curiosity.

"Ay yi yi yi, this is so exciting. My circuits are overloading with anticipation," Alpha's voice was filled with excitement.

Reaching to his side, where he kept his Morpher, Adam lifted the bulky device forward. The Mastodon Coin embedded in the Morpher shined in the dim light, "It's Morphin Time!" There was no elaborate motion like so many of the later Rangers, just a simple thrusting forward, the Morpher's front panel opened as a glow erupted from the Coin, "Mastodon!" The final phase of the morph was complete, and Adam stood clad in his Black Ranger uniform.

"Whoah," was Dr. K's only response.

"So what's next?" the Black Ranger addressed the dumbfounded scientist.

"Oh…yeah…um…scanning…we need to run a body scan," Dr. K came back to reality, "Come on, we need to go this way. Oh and you can meet our recruits as well," the young scientist regained her composure.

"Lead the way," the Black Ranger responded.

Dr. K and the Black Ranger began to leave the room.

"You coming or not," Dr. K looked back to Justin.

"Oh yeah, be right there," Justin walked towards the Ranger and girl.

"Alpha can you go check on the other project?" Dr. K asked the robot.

"Of course Dr. K, right away," Alpha went the opposite direction.

"What other project? If you don't mind me asking?" Justin asked as he walked side by side with the petite scientist.

"You'll see, I'm hoping you can help me with it," Dr. K winked.

"Works for me," Justin responded.

TBC


	2. Redux 2

Disclaimer: Second verse same as the first

Note: Just felt like saying hey people...what's good? So here we have a reprint of Chapter 2 of RPM (from the recently deleted, "Ranger Earth: Origins"), once again I apologize if you've read this before.

RPM Redux

Justin, Dr. K, and Adam, in Ranger guise, made their way back down a different hall. Apparently Orion Labs was hall friendly.

"So you have recruits?" the Black Ranger asked the young scientist.

"Yeah, we trained 3 people with full intent of making them into Rangers," Dr. K replied.

"But there are 5 suits," Justin pointed out.

"Yeah Series Green and Black…well we're still not sure about those. We're looking at several different options though," Dr. K said coyly, "here we go, the recruit's station. They're usually here at this time of day."

Dr. K entered a code into a keypad and the door slid open.

Inside were 3 young adults, each wearing a leather jacket with a number 1 through 3 embroidered on the back. The number corresponded to the appearance of the numbers on the chest of the Ranger uniform.

"Hey guys," Dr. K approached and greeted the 3 recruits.

"Hey Dr. K," an African American said as he nodded towards the small scientist.

"Hey Scott, I'd like to introduce you guys some people," Dr. K waved for Justin and Adam to come in, "this is Justin Stewart, former Blue Turbo Ranger."

"That awesome, they're trainin me as Blue," a young man with short brown hair spoke up, reaching out his hand, "Name's Flynn," it was obvious that he wasn't from America; he had a strong Scottish accent.

Justin reached out and shook Flynn's hand, "Pleased to meet you."

"And this is Adam Park," Dr. K motioned for the Black Ranger to enter.

All three recruits stood dumb-founded at what they saw. In front of them was a real Power Ranger, fully morphed.

"That's awesome, I didn't think there were any other Rangers out there," the female recruit said excitedly. She wore her brunette hair down over her shoulders, "Mister Park, my name is Kayla Landsdown, and it's an honor."

"You can just call me Adam," the Black Ranger laughed, "I mean I know I'm getting old, but still."

"Well recruits, I'm going to take the Ranger here back for some scans, hopefully you'll be in those suits within a couple days," Dr. K turned to leave the room. Adam and Justin followed.

The 3 recruits remained in their station.

"Those were real life Power Rangers, how cool is that?" Flynn said as he looked around the room.

"That is pretty awesome," Kayla replied, "plus that spandex is totally hot on the Black Ranger, you can tell he works out."

Scott looked at his two teammates and just shook his head, "just think we'll be right there with them before long, but until then we should probably makes our way back to the training fields."

Flynn and Kayla nodded in agreement and the three Ranger recruits left the room, still talking about what they had just seen.

Dr. K led Justin and Adam to yet another room, and once again entered a number on the keypad.

"Wouldn't keycards be a lot easier than remembering all those numbers?" Justin asked.

"Yeah but then someone else could gain access to these rooms…and well that would not be the best of news," Dr. K walked through the door, "Adam would you mind stepping on the plate in the center of the room?"

"No problem," Adam did as he was asked.

"This is where things get boring," Dr. K told Justin, "but you're more than welcome to stay."

"That's cool," Justin replied, "I used to be a fan of all this science stuff, not something you can completely give up on."

"Yeah, you did have some pretty cool devices back in high school," the younger girl smiled.

"Yeah, but not enough to graduate at 14," Justin teased.

Dr. K rolled her eyes and stuck her tongue out at the former Turbo Ranger.

"Real mature," Justin laughed.

"Oh look, the scanning had begun," Dr. K turned her attention to a monitor in front of her.

The monitor flickered to life as countless read outs scrolled over the screen. A 3d image of the Black Ranger appeared as well, with multiple red dots frequently changing location and size as a further scans were completed. After about ten minutes the screen settled and a message saying, "scan complete," appeared.

"This is great!" Dr. K exclaimed as a CD ejected from a panel in front on her, "I need to get these back to my lab."

"Well I hope you got what you needed," Adam said as he stepped from the plate, "is it cool if I power down?"

"Definitely, thank you sooo much," Dr. K gave the Black Ranger a hug, "you rock."

"You're welcome," Adam laughed, "Power down." The Black Ranger uniform faded and Adam was left standing in his regular clothes, "what next?"

"Well I really don't have much right now, but if you want you can either come watch me look at computer screens, or you can go out back and watch the recruits, 'training,' which mean they are probably goofing off," Dr. K answered.

"As much fun as computer viewing sounds…I think I'll go goof off with the next generation," Adam joked.

"That's fine," the young scientist wrote a numerical code on a piece of paper and handed it to Adam, "that'll get you access to the training grounds…and the bathroom…but that's about it."

"Good to know," Adam accepted the paper, "I'll catch up with you guys later." He bumped into Justin on the way out and whispered, "behave."

"Not joining him?" Dr. K asked the former Ranger.

"I'm all for computer viewing personally," Justin smiled.

Dr. K just smiled back, "Cool."

Dr. K and Justin continued back towards the lab where the Zeo Crystals were housed.

Adam went the opposite direction as he looked for the exit to the Ranger training grounds. Finally finding it he entered the code that Dr. K had given him and he stepped out into an open yard.

Apparently the recruits' idea of training involved Kayla and Flynn arm-wrestling at a nearby picnic table. Oddly enough Kayla seemed to be winning.

"Dude, she is destroying you. You are a disgrace to the entire male race," Scott laughed.

"How bout a little support here…" Flynn struggled against the force the much smaller female was exerting.

Kayla didn't respond, she just prepared for the inevitable victory that was within her reach.

"So this is how the next generation of Rangers train?" Adam approached the small group, catching them all off guard.

In the surprise Flynn lost what control he did have and Kayla slammed his hand to the ground, "Who are you?"

"Oh sorry guys," Adam reached out his hand, "I'm Adam."

Each recruit shook his hand.

"That's crazy earlier we met the Black Ranger and his name was Adam," Flynn said as he looked to the others for confirmation.

Scott slapped the future Blue Ranger along the back of the head, "That is the Black Ranger."

"I knew that," Flynn tried to regain his composure.

Kayla just looked the Ranger up and down. She had to admit he was even more attractive in person than he was in costume.

"So I see I interrupted a battle of the sexes," Adam laughed.

"She's on steroids, I kid you not," Flynn said.

Kayla punched the Scottish-man in the arm, "watch it Leprechaun."

"See what I mean, violent tendencies, un-holy strength, and masculine physique," Flynn rubbed his arm where she had punched him.

"You're asking for trouble Blue," Scott laughed.

Kayla realized what Flynn had said, "Wait…I don't have a masculine physique. Do I?"

"Not at all," Adam answered her.

Kayla blushed at what she took as a compliment.

"So how do you guys train? Or is it just a bunch of sitting around?" Adam asked as he settled on top of the picnic table.

"Well for awhile it was a lot of defense training, then a lot of weapons training, then a bunch of studying Machine Empire tactics, and then it just became a waiting game. Apart from morning exercise, we mostly just sit around, and we spar every once in awhile," Scott explained.

"Spar? Now you're talking my language," Adam smiled, "back in the day me, Tommy and Rocky would do all the time."

"That's cool," Flynn nodded his head.

"So any of you want to try your hands at beating an old guy?" Adam joked.

"Yeah…because age had affected you so much," Scott laughed, "but sure, I'm up for a butt kicking. Kayla, Flynn can you set out the sparring mats?"

"No prob boss," Flynn answered as he a Kayla went to grab the mats that were leaning against a nearby wall.

Both Scott and Adam kicked off their boots. Adam took off his white shirt, and Scott dropped his RPM jacket.

"No Ranger Powers alright? I know those thing sometimes give people like super powers in and out of uniform," Scott loosened his shoulder.

"That was after my time," Adam smiled as he readied himself.

Kayla and Flynn laid down the mats and backed away. The future Red Ranger and past Black Ranger began their fight.

Back inside Orion Labs Justin and Dr. K had settled in front of a computer. She inserted the CD they had retrieved earlier the monitor came to life with all the scans they taken from Adam's Morpher form.

"This is so cool," Dr. K said as the information scrolled in front of her.

"Yeah, but will it help you on the RPM suits?" Justin asked.

"That's what we're here to find out," the younger girl said.

"So what was this other project you were working on?" Justin asked as he watched the monitor himself.

"Oh…that's right," Dr. K turned her attention away from the screen, "I'm not sure if that's ready yet, but if you want we can see."

"If it can wait then we can focus on this instead," Justin replied.

"Okay, then maybe tomorrow," Dr. K went back to her computer screen, "oh my goodness, I found it!"

"What'd you find?" Justin scanned the screen seeing if he could figure out what she meant.

"A way to make this work," Dr. K smiled, and pressed a button on the side of her headset, "Alpha get in here, we have what we need."

Back outside Adam was helping Scott back to his feet, "Not bad rookie, you almost had me there."

The two had been sparring for nearly two hours, even though it didn't seem that way.

Scott chuckled, "yeah if you say so."

"Man that was brutal," Flynn said from the side.

"You think you'd do any better?" Kayla asked Flynn.

"Heck no, I can't even handle you, but the benefit of sitting on the sideline is that you can say whatever you want, and not have to actually prove your right," Flynn responded.

Kayla didn't even have a response to that, she just shook her head and laughed.

Adam and Scott rejoined Kayla and Flynn at the picnic table. The Ranger recruits and Adam settled down and just talked for a while. The recruits were taking in all the stories that Adam was telling them, from when he got his powers, up to how he regained his powers. He also told them about the original invasion of the Machine Empire and how he and his friends had prevented that attack. Before they knew another few hours had passed.

"Kayla!!!" A new voice, female, yelled from across the training field.

"Friend of yours?" Adam asked the future Yellow Ranger.

"You could say that," Kayla said unenthusiastically, "that's my kid sister, Summer."

Summer ran across the field to the picnic table. She was a couple years younger than Summer, making her probably around 17 or 18. Apart from the blonde hair she and Kayla bared a striking resemblance to one another.

"Hey Summer, what's up?" Scott asked the approaching girl.

"Nothin much I just wanted to get outside, and since I know you guys are working sooo hard I figured I'd drop by," the blonde girl smiled, "who's this? Is he another one of the Ranger wannabes…I mean he looks a little old…"

"Sorry Adam, she sometimes speaks when she shouldn't," Kayla apologized to the Black Ranger.

"It's no problem," Adam replied, "I'm Adam, and no I'm not a Ranger wannabe, I've been in that job field for far too long as is."

"Oh…okay then…" Summer smiled, "I'm not really into the whole getting beat up to save the world thing…sorry."

"It's not for everyone," Flynn spoke, "it takes a certain awesomeness that some people just lack."

Summer punched Flynn in the same spot that Kayla had punched her earlier.

"Ow! What do you girls eat?" Flynn rubbed his arm.

"Recruits, report to the Ranger lab," Dr. K's voice sounded over an intercom.

The recruits, Adam and Summer all looked to one another.

"Wonder what's up?" Flynn asked no one in particular.

"I dunno, but I guess we should go check things out. Come on guys," Scott stood up from the table. The others followed behind him, even Summer.

It didn't take long to reach Dr. K's lab.

"What's up doc?" Flynn laughed at his own, predictable and bad joke.

"Thanks to Adam I have figured out how to sync the RPM Powers with each of you," Dr. K boasted.

"Really!?!" Kayla, Flynn and Scott all said simultaneously.

"It's so simple, I can't believe we didn't realize it sooner," Dr. K continued.

"So are you gonna fill them in, or what?" Summer jumped in.

"Who's she?" Justin asked.

"Oh that's Kayla's sister Summer," Adam answered.

"Oh, okay," Justin replied.

"All we had to do was have a way to combine your DNA with the Cell Shift Morphers, and voila Power Rangers," Dr. K explained, "and thanks to Alpha we have a means to do just that." She pulled out a small tray, "these are the Engine Cell Chips, basically a microchip that scans your DNA and programs it into the Morphers."

"Wait, you were able to come up with something that high tech in less than an hour?" Summer asked not believing what she was hearing,

"High tech? It's basically just a scanner chip, no more complicated than what they used to use in cell phones. We had plenty of these things just laying around in the back. Alpha slapped a new face on them and gave them a fancy name."

"So it was really just that simple?" Kayla asked.

"Yeah, and the greatest part is that it the Cell Shift Morphers were already designed with a port for scanner chips, which we really intended mostly just for data storage. Though with just a few slight modifications they'll be ready to go within a few days," Dr. K continued.

"How exactly did me being scanned help you figure that out?" Adam asked.

"I realized that all the Power Coins were essentially data storage that was programmed per specific individual. After I saw that, it all dawned on me," the young scientist smiled, "it was that easy. Of course I'm not complaining that I have full access to the intricacies of your morphing capability, I'm sure there are a ton of things I can learn."

"Sounds good to me," Adam said.

"So when can try it out?" Scott asked, the anticipation evident in his voice.

"Well this is the only Engine Cell Chip we've completed, but the others will be ready by tomorrow. So provided nothing crazy happens in the next 24 hours you'll have a taste of being a Ranger," Dr. K bragged.

"Awesome, I can't wait!" Summer exclaimed, "this what I've been training for. It's so close, I can taste it."

"I've contacted General Truman and he gave the go ahead for the testing," Dr. K informed the future Rangers, "so get some sleep tonight, and get ready."

The recruits were restless, they couldn't wait for tomorrow. After discussing things for a little longer the recruits decided to return to their respective dorms. Adam and Justin also decided to return to Justin's apartment, but planned on returning early the next morning.

Outside of Corinth though things weren't as cheery, a large contingent of Machine Empire forces were readying for an attack. They planned to attack the gates at noon the next day. It Quadra Fighters were landing a few miles outside the gates and various generations of Cogs were also prepping themselves for what would be a massive assault.

TBC


	3. Redux 3

Disclaimer: Negative ownership.

Note: Really, I have very little to say here...so I'll just go to the story...

RPM Redux

Justin and Adam both slept well that night, and the morning seemed to arrive far earlier than it should have. This morning though Justin was the first to wake up. He was showered and dressed before Adam even rolled off of the sofa.

"You're up early," Adam said as he heard Justin walk into the den.

"I know, it's weird," Justin laughed.

"Well let me get ready and we'll head over to Orion," Adam said as he sat up.

Adam disappeared into the bathroom to jump in the shower, and by the time he got out he could smell breakfast cooking…this was turning into a very odd morning. Adam pulled on obligatory black clothing, because…well mostly because it was customary for a Ranger to wear matching colors.

"You actually know how to work a stove?" Adam said as he walked back into the kitchen.

"Well it looked simple enough," Justin said laughing, "would you prefer the burned eggs or the slightly burned eggs?"

Adam laughed as he took the plate that Justin offered.

The two veteran Rangers downed breakfast then got on the road to Orion Labs. Once again they made the 15 minute drive, and arrived at Orion.

"Welcome to Orion," the secretary greeted them, "oh Mister Stewart, Mister Park, you're expected. Please make your way inside."

Justin and Adam entered into the same room they had entered yesterday, and went through the same procedure as they waited fro authorized access into the labs.

"Morning Rangers," Alpha greeted them as they walked into the labs.

"Hey Alpha," Justin returned the greeting.  
"Dr. K is expecting you Justin," Alpha said, "she wanted me to take you back to the Garage."

"Garage?" Justin asked.

"You know it dude," Alpha responded.

"Hey Alpha are the Ranger recruits here?" Adam asked.

"Why of course Adam, you can meet them out back if you wish, Dr. K doesn't need you for anything right now," Alpha answered.

"Cool," Adam turned towards the training grounds, "I'll catch you later Justin. Later Alpha."

"Later," Justin responded as he turned to follow Alpha.

Alpha led the former Turbo Ranger back through Dr. K's lab, where the Ranger uniforms were still being displayed, and into the door that Alpha had gone off into the day before.

They walked down yet another hall, a short one, but a hall nonetheless, and approached another door that had several keypads on it. Alpha entered in a very long and complex number combination on each of the pads. A lock clicked, then another and then another as the door slowly opened.

Alpha led Justin into an elevator, as it began to move down. A short ride later the door opened and opened up into a massive room.

"So I take it this is the Garage?" Justin looked around the room, "named for obvious reasons I can tell."

"Dr. K will meet you in a minute," Alpha said as he turned back to the elevator, "I'll see you later Justin."

With that Alpha entered the elevator as the door closed, and robot disappeared.

There were several massive, what Justin assumed to be vehicles, each covered by large sheets. He was tempted to pull back the sheets, just to see what they were hiding, but he resisted the urges.

"Morning Justin," Dr. K approached from behind one of the covered vehicles.

"Hey doc," Justin waved as the petite girl walked his way.

"So this is the Garage," Dr. K motioned her hand around the room.

"Wow, creative name," Justin laughed.

"Yeah, the name-making guy was missed the meeting…so we just went with the obvious," Dr. K responded, "anyway follow me this way and I'll show you one of our special projects…one you may be familiar with."

Dr. K began walking towards the back of the room, where there was something that Justin had never expected to see again. It looked an awful lot like a blue jeep, except a little larger than the one he usually drove. The vehicle itself was one of the smaller vehicles in the Garage, but to anyone who knew what it was, it was obvious the vehicle was something special. Mounted on the vehicle was an apparently un-working weapon of sorts. The blue paint had scratches and dents in it, and it was obvious that there had been a lot of battle damage, but it appeared that someone had attempted to dent out and buff out as much of the damage as possible.

"We're in the midst of repairs, but just in case your mind is slipping in your old age," Dr. K smiled at the Turbo Ranger, "I would like to introduce you to Model S-2, also known as…"

"Storm Blaster…" Justin ran his hands along the vehicle's damaged exterior.

"You got it," Dr. K replied.

"But where? How?" Justin turned towards the younger woman.

"We found it in the middle of the Barricade outside of the city," Dr. K answered,  
"but apart from that we have no idea where it came from. Though we really have no idea how to get it working again, we've tried an awful lot to no avail."

"This isn't like every other vehicle doc," Justin explained, "a little gas; a wash…won't bring him to life."

"You lost me…" Dr. K responded.

"It's simple, Storm Blaster is alive, he's a living…well was a living…sentient being," Justin explained, "Essentially he's dead."

"Oh…" the small scientist said…not knowing what else to say.

"But it is good to see him again," Justin smiled as he opened the driver's side door, and settled in the seat.

Reaching down Justin placed both hands on the steering wheel, and followed the contours of the wheel. A sudden warmth filled the former Ranger's body, and he vaguely thought he heard something, something that wasn't present a minute ago. Closing his eyes Justin listened closely.

"Justin?" Dr. K tried to get his attention.

Justin smiled as he opened his eyes. Looking towards the younger scientist, he said, "Get in."

"What?" Dr. K was confused.

Justin reached across the seat and opened the passenger door.

Dr. K, uncertain of what was going on, walked slowly around the vehicle and settled into the passenger seat.

"Buckle up," Justin said as he faced forward.

"Justin? Are you okay?" Dr. K asked concernedly.

Justin didn't reply, only smiled larger.

Dr. K buckled her seat belt, despite not really knowing why. Only minutes ago he had said the S-2…Storm Blaster…was dead, and now he was acting like the vehicle was alive…

"Garage Bay door opening," an electronic voice sounded throughout the whole Garage.

"What's going on?" Dr. K looked around the room urgently, "no one authorized the door's opening."

"Get ready…" Justin said quietly.

"Huh?" Dr. K looked to Justin.

"Get set…" Justin's voice was a little louder.

"Justin?"

"GO!!!" Justin said loudly.

With that last word, the 'dead' Storm Blaster revved to life, speeding towards the bay doors.

"What in the!?!" Dr. K asked excitedly.

The former Blue Turbo Ranger and the young scientist sped out of the bay doors, bursting into the bright, yellow light of the outside world.

Justin assumed the area they were at was still within the 'force field' that surrounded the city. The ground was rough and worn; apparently the area was used for vehicular drills by the Corinth guards.

Storm Blaster tore around the bends and curves of the terrain, kicking up clouds of dust behind it.

"I though you said it was dead," Dr. K yelled towards Justin as he focused on the road in front of him.

"Seems pretty alive to me," Justin laughed, "though he is filling a little rough on the turns."

Storm Blaster seemed to have understood what Justin said, and within moments its steering seemed tighter, and it seemed to increase its speed.

"Have any targets out here?" Justin asked Dr. K.

"You mean apart from the massive piles of scrap laying everywhere?" Dr. K smiled as she answered.

"You hear that Storm Blaster," Justin spoke to the vehicle, "think you can handle that?"

The un-working weapon mounted on Storm Blaster came to life, a bright blue light shot from the end of the weapon, blasting a pile of scrap to almost nothing.

"Turbine Laser still seems to be working," Justin smiled.

"No joke," Dr. K agreed, "so I guess the whole dead thing is out the window?"

Adam had met up with the Ranger candidates in training grounds, where today's, "training," consisted of merely talking about what they would do when they became Rangers. Flynn was thoroughly convinced that once the three of them became Rangers the Machine Empire would fold just at the sight of them.

"Yeah, because it only takes three people to fell an empire," Kayla rolled her eyes at his boasting, "seriously I'll just be happy if we can keep the freaking clankers outside of the city."

"You never know, I mean it past years 5…or in some cases 6 people have been able to keep the destruction of the world to a minimum," Adam replied.

"Yeah, but no offense to the Rangers of the past, but a lot of their villains were kind of dim wits, I mean they constantly attacked one city, where they had their tails handed to the on a regular bases instead of branching out to the countless, Ranger-less cities in the world," Scott responded.

"Now that you mention it…yeah that was pretty stupid," Adam laughed.

Kayla's sister, Summer, had also decided she needed to grace the Rangers with her presence about the same time Adam had arrived, where she had contributed absolutely nothing to the conversation, apart from snide comments asking why they were all insane.

"When you grow up, I'm sure you'll understand kiddo," Flynn attempted to mess up Summer's hair. To which she responded by attempting to take out the Scot's shins.

"You're a glutton for punishment, you know that right?" Kayla laughed at the future Blue Ranger.

"Only from you 2," Flynn winked toward the Yellow Ranger.

"So Adam, you thinking about joining up with us when we get our new powers?" Kayla attempted to ignore the Scotsman.

"I don't know, two Black Rangers on one team…that my mess up the color scheme," Adam laughed.

"That's provided we ever get a Black Ranger," Scott said matter of factly.

Summer really didn't care much for the conversation that was going on so instead of actually trying to join the conversation she looked around the grounds, aimlessly. It was then she noticed to figures that seemed to be standing across the grounds looking like they were trying to appear to be doing nothing.

"Who are those guys?" Summer asked oblivious to what was being talked about.

"What?" Kayla turned to her younger sister, "who?"

Summer pointed towards the two figures she had noticed, "Those two…short guy and tall guy…"

"Probably just a couple of the Truman's guards, they're kinda just standing there, lost. More than likely newbie's," Scott answered as he glanced towards the two guys.

"They look suspicious to me," Summer said, "but then again I'm no Power Ranger, I'm just a 16 year old annoyance." Kayla's sister smiled a ridiculously false smile.

"Truer words were never spoken," Kayla replied, "God save us if the fate of the Corinth ever fell into your hands."

A sisterly raspberry was all that Summer responded with.

"Real mature," Scott shook his head, "isn't there any other place you should be?"

"Yeah, but they actually like me there," Summer answered.

"Are they always like this?" Adam asked Flynn off to the side.

"Aye, typical day in the life," Flynn laughed.

Adam just laughed as he listened to Scott, Summer and Kayla bickering back and forth.

Across the training grounds the 2 figures that Summer had pointed out continued trying to appear like they weren't suspicious.

"Are you sure about this?" The taller figure asked the shorter figure.

"Have I ever steered you?" The shorter figure replied.

"Do you really want me to answer that?" The taller figure replied.

"Okay, not a good argument, but trust me the Ranger suits are ready. I'm sure we can make a fortune off the technology alone," the shorter figure returned.

"Remember who you're talking to, technology and me are old friends," the taller figure said.

"Okay Dillon, I get it, part robot…" the shorter figure responded, "hence the reason you are the muscle…well that and the bad boy attitude, but remember I'm the brains here."

"Oh yeah Ziggy…you're definitely the smart one," the taller figure, apparently named Dillon, responded sarcastically, "which is why I was the one to figure out how to bust you out of the prison in Mariner Bay…I believe I was the one to get us through the Barricade, in daylight no less, oh and wasn't it me who figured…"

"Okay…okay…calm down or I'm going to splash you with water…not that that would actually accomplish anything…but…" the shorter one, Ziggy, replied, "I got the point, but you can't deny the fact that I know more about the inner workings of a computer system than Venjix himself…okay well that may be slight exaggeration, but you get the idea."

"So you seriously can hack into Orion's system, without unleashing viral doom on the human race?" Dillon questioned his partner.

"Can and did. How do you think I know about the Ranger suits?" Ziggy answered, "and not even their top specialists managed to find me out."

"I hope you're right," Dillon said.

"Me to…" Ziggy responded, "okay come on let's walk I think we have an audience noticing us."

With that the two figures disappeared into a nearby door.

Back across the training ground Summer and Scott continued to prod responses from each other.

"You feel better now? The evil guards have gone," Scott pointed out.

"What? All I did was make an observation; you're the one who wanted to argue a moot point?" Summer retorted.

"Okay guys, I think we can grow up now…Scott…I'm looking at you. Quit teasing the teenager," Kayla looked towards both Scott and Summer.

"I'm too old for this," Adam laughed.

With that the Rangers…and Ranger sister…decided to head inside.

"Summer, you do know that you really don't have access to the inner workings of Orion," Scott pointed out.

"And that had stopped her before?" Kayla responded.

"Yeah I mean, because it's so obvious that I have nothing but ill intent towards the city that keeps me alive and safe…" Summer said sarcastically.

"Yup, no sarcasm from that one," Flynn replied.

No one else decided to comment, instead they continued on their way towards Dr. K's laboratory to see if anything new had happened on the Ranger front.

When they entered the lab though, they didn't meet Dr. K; instead they met Alpha 5 as he was working on the Engine Cell Chips.

"Hey Alpha, seen Dr. K around?" Kayla was the first to enter the room.

Alpha was startled as the Rangers approached, he dropped what he was working on, it clanging to the table, "Ay yi yi, Kayla, you startled me."

"Sorry, it was an accident," Kayla approached the robot.

"It's okay, but no, I haven't seen Dr. K or Justin since I left them in the Garage," Alpha answered, "but good news Rangers, the Engine Cell Chips are almost all complete, after they charge it'll be Ranger time."

"Awesome," Flynn responded.

The door to the Garage Elevator came open, as the two figures of Justin and Dr. k walked into the room laughing, and talking rapidly.

Dr. K was the first to notice that they were walking into a crowd, "oh welcome Rangers."

"Looks like you two have been busy," Adam looked towards the scientist and Ranger, "anything interesting?"

"You could say that," Justin replied, "I know it came after you left the team, but they found Storm Blaster."

"Storm Blaster?" Flynn asked the former Blue Ranger.

"That's the sentient Jeep from back in your Ranger days isn't it?" Adam replied.

"Sentient? As in alive?" Scott spoke up.

"Very much alive, he's running better that ever," Justin answered.

"Well that could be useful," Summer spoke, "right? It's kinda like a Zord thing isn't it?"

"Not a Zord, but definitely useful, the Turbine Laser on that thing could level a squad of Cogs in a heartbeat," Dr. K answered.

"Zords? We have Zords?" Flynn asked excitedly.

"What else do you think they'd be docking in the super secret access Garage?" Kayla replied.

"Maybe motorcycles, don't Rangers usually have those?" Flynn responded as he shrugged his shoulders, "or ATV's I think some Rangers have used those."

No one even bothered with a reply to the future Blue Ranger.

"So Engine Cell Chips about complete right?" Scott looked towards Alpha.

"Affirmative Scott, the Red Chip is ready, and in a few hours Blue, Yellow, Green and Black will be ready as well," Alpha answered.

"So you're saying that it's time for a test run?" Scott asked hopefully.

"I don't know, I'm sure your father would like to be present for that," Dr. K answered.

"Yeah, because he's been present for all the big events in my life," Scott said sarcastically, "but that all comes with being in the military, it happens."

A siren began to sound, interrupting the conversation. With the siren, a voice also sounded, "Warning, warning, Corinth is being breached. All civilians move to designated fall out zones. The Machine Empire is advancing. All troops to the outer perimeter. Air defenses prepare for Quadra Fighters, heavy weapons ready for Drone attacks. This is not a test; I repeat this is not a test."

The whole of Orion immediately came even more to life than it had been. Troops and soldiers made it from their dorms, each running to the arms room to equip themselves. These of course were only the Orion guards, the military forces stayed in their own barracks.

"This is bad," the Rangers all said together.

"I'm goin to help," Adam told the others.

"Morphin time?" Justin asked.

"Oh yeah," Adam withdrew his Dino-Morpher, "It's Morphin time!" With those three words Adam was no longer Adam the human, but instead stood Adam, the Black Ranger, "I'll see you guys out there." The Black Ranger left the room.

"Good call," Justin said, "listen Alpha, get me into the Garage."

Alpha looked to Dr. K for confirmation. The young scientist nodded is agreement as Alpha and the former Blue Ranger left the room.

"I've gotta get Summer in, I'll be back as soon as possible," Kayla didn't even wait for confirmation; she grabbed her younger sister by the arm and left the room.

"Dr. K, general or no, Adam is going to need some help," Scott looked towards the younger girl, "looks like its testing time."

"Well there's only one way to know," Dr. K sighed, "here's the Morpher, insert the Chip, say 'Get In Gear,' and if things go right…you'll be ready for battle."

"Seriously?" Scott accepted the Morpher, "if you say so."

Scott looked to both Flynn and Dr. K, lifted the Morpher, "here goes nothing." Scott crossed the Morpher in front of him, "Get In Gear!"

His whole body glowed in red, as he felt something warm passing through him. Something he'd never felt before, something powerful. The tube that had held the Red Ranger uniform emptied, and standing in the middle of the room stood the newest Red Ranger.

"This is amazing," Scott said, "but no time for admiration, I'm out to the front. Good luck."

"I know this isn't probably the best time…but I can't wait for my turn," Flynn said.

"Shut up, we have to go…" Dr. K said, "now."

Outside the lab two figures huddled low to the ground.

"Well this is convenient," the smaller figure said, "very convenient."

"You two," a loud voice shouted down the hall, "get to the arms room. Now!"

"Right away sir," the taller of the two figures replied.

"Dillon? You're not serious?" the smaller figure said.

"Of course not," Dillon replied, "just follow my lead."

TBC

End note: So in the show Ziggy is the comic relief with a shady past, well I decided to maintain the less-than-wholesome past, but Flynn is my comedy guy, there's still more to come.


End file.
